How grocery giant Aldi got into flipping houses

Consumers might be flocking to grocers like Illinois-based Aldi for pantry staples amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the company has a slightly larger offering as well: a five-bedroom, 3,983-square-foot house in Downers Grove, which parent company Aldi USA is selling for $925,000.

And that isn’t the only DuPage County, Ill., home owned by Aldi, which has its U.S. headquarters in nearby Batavia. The grocer paid $530,000 in December for a 1,950-square-foot vintage brick home in Glen Ellyn, as well.

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In Downers Grove, Aldi is acting as a relocation agency of sorts. Aldi executive Horst Leitner bought the five-bedroom house in 2016 for $1.14 million. Once he relocated within the company, he tried to sell it in 2018 for $1.24 million. But with no takers, the company bought the house from Leitner in late 2018 for just over $1.19 million, according to public records.

The grocer then relisted the house last year for $999,000, and lowered its asking price to $925,000 in April.

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Built in 1992, the 18-room, traditional-style house has five full bathrooms, high ceilings, millwork and a fully finished basement. Its kitchen features two Dacor ovens, a Dacor warming drawer, a wine refrigerator and stainless steel appliances. Upstairs, the master suite features custom cabinetry for clothing. The house also has a three-car garage and a landscaped yard with a gazebo, a slate patio and a cedar pergola.

“The house is really beautiful,” said listing agent Lina Shah of Coldwell Banker. “It has high ceilings and an open floor plan, and the lot is really large.”

Aldi paid $530,000 in December for a 1,950-square-foot vintage brick home in Glen Ellyn in a private transaction from a onetime Aldi purchasing director who recently relocated to Australia. (Bob Goldsborough / Chicago Tribune)

In December, Aldi bought a house near downtown Glen Ellyn in the shadow of Glenbard West High School. Built in 1922, the house was not on the market and sold in a private transaction. However, the company bought the house from a onetime Aldi purchasing director who recently relocated to Australia.